


Time After Time

by iwasbotwp



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/M, This Is Not Going To Go The Way You Think, Time Travel, Tragic Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-16
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2020-10-19 17:07:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20660708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwasbotwp/pseuds/iwasbotwp
Summary: Hermione knows she can save Fred. After all, she has time on her side. It's just a matter of getting the events to line up the way she needs them to.





	Time After Time

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Sing-Me-A-Rare Volume 4. Much love to my alpha, enniferfs, and my beta, HeartOfAspen, for their endless nudges in the right direction.  
Song Prompt - Time After Time - Cyndi Lauper - Strictly Ballroom

Sprinting across the stone floors smeared with blood and ash, Hermione paused only to jump over a pile of twisted metal that appeared to have once been trophies, chanting the same word over and over. “No, no, no, no!”

Time was of the essence. She just needed a little more time. And perhaps she knew where to find some.

Almost tripping on a broken step, she narrowly avoided rolling her ankle as she raced downwards. She could barely believe her luck at finding no one else about. And then she was there, standing in front of a familiar, albeit battered, stone gargoyle. Before she could open her mouth to beg for entry, the creature stepped aside on its own, halfheartedly grumbling while it revealed a spiral staircase. Enchantments within the castle were failing left and right, it seemed.

In her mind’s eye, she still saw Fred lying outside the Room of Requirement, covered in rubble and dust, unmoving and unresponsive as Percy shook him, begging him to open his eyes. Harry had helped dig out the stocky redhead’s body and pull him behind a suit of armor. Looking as if he were in shock, Ron had just stood there - the useless git.

It was Hermione who had taken action, rushing away even as she instructed Percy, Ron, and Harry to stay where they were while she ran for help. 

Adrenaline coursed through her body, staving off the panic for now. It was only her continued whispers of the word ‘no’ punctuated by laboured gasps brought on by her run to the Headmaster’s office that contradicted the fierce look of determination on her face. Holding her wand loosely, as had been drilled into her by Harry, Hermione reached the top of the steps.

A glance around revealed that the room had likely changed very little since Albus Dumbledore’s death. Trinkets were scattered throughout the large office, just as Harry had described it. 

The portraits all stood empty; Hermione could only surmise they were off lending aid where they could in the battle. Perhaps that was for the best - no witnesses to what she planned next. Standing up straight, she cleared her throat and took a deep breath.

“Accio Time-Turner,” she commanded in a strong, clear voice.

* * *

Figuring one turn would be enough, a Disillusioned Hermione crept back down the corridor, sticking close to the brick wall, her steps muffled by a spell. Her heart stuttered as she spied Malfoy, with Goyle and Crabbe a step behind him, on their way to the Room of Requirement. She could stop the entire incident with the Fiendfyre _ right now _ by sending a spell at Crabbe’s back. She nearly did it, until she thought about the possibility that it would change too much. The wall simply could not fall on Fred, and that was all.

“Focus,” she reminded herself with a sigh once the hall was clear again. Still taking care not to be seen, she made it up the seventh floor just as her other self, Ron, and Harry were disappearing into the Room of Hidden Things.

There were roughly thirty minutes until the fight began that would kill Fred. Stationing herself catty-corner from the section of wall that was burned into her mind, Hermione consciously breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth to calm her rapidly beating heart. She tried to visualize the sequence of events leading up to Fred's death exactly as they had happened. 

It had been Percy's joke that distracted Fred and ultimately cost him his life, she decided. All she needed to do was focus on that moment.

_ 40 minutes later _

"Dammit!" Hermione had hidden herself away a cupboard, hiccoughing through panicked tears. She had managed to make it worse. Not only had Fred still died, but Percy had too.

Pulling the Time-Turner out from under her hoodie, she waited for her hand to stop shaking before she turned the golden dial one more time.

* * *

Casting powerful hexes while Disillusioned took considerable energy and concentration. Plus, once Hermione sent a _ Diffindo _ at Augustus Rookwood, the other Death Eaters around him had discerned that someone was hiding. Not that it mattered anyway.

When Percy uttered his line at Pius Thicknesse, Fred was still distracted enough that Thorfinn Rowle had stepped in and caused the wall to fall and crush him. Hermione realized she'd need to go back a third time. Perhaps it was best to target Thicknesse this time, she surmised. If Percy couldn't crack his joke during the battle, Fred couldn't get distracted, right?

Before she quite knew it, Hermione had gone back a fourth, a fifth, and even a sixth time. Yet, Fred still died despite every one of her attempts to save him. Her fourth failure was completely her own fault - in an attempt to deflect Rookwood’s _ Bombarda _from the wall, she had caused it to hit Fred directly. That one had been the worst. Hermione didn’t know if she could ever unsee what that spell could do to the human body. The fifth and sixth tries had been much less traumatic, but what did that matter if he was still dead?

By now, she was managing to avoid her other self quite neatly - she had developed a knack for it with so much practice. As Hermione continued to go back time and time again, tweaking little things here and there, she had expected to find herself around every corner. Instead, she was surprised to find that she only had to avoid one of herself. She made a mental note to come back to that conundrum and think about it more in depth - later, after she had saved Fred.

Finally, after she’d had to relive the hour of Fred's death for the seventh time, she admitted defeat.

“I need to go back further,” she concluded from her hiding place. She had taken up refuge in the locked cupboard on the sixth floor that had proven to be a safe spot, time after time. The Time-Turner glinted from the palm of her hand, catching the little light that came under the door. “Maybe back to when Fred and George come through the tunnel from Aberforth’s summons.”

With that realization came the notion that she would need to do some additional planning. She could not run around for hours sustaining a Disillusionment charm, and waiting for her other self to melt away into non-existence.

“I’m going to need Harry’s cloak," she declared to nobody in particular.

* * *

Hermione followed her original self just around the corner from the boys as she ran toward the Headmaster's office. As soon as the original Hermione was out of sight, she murmured a _ Finite _ and reversed direction.

Running up to Harry, she steadfastly refused to look upon Fred's vacant stare for an eighth time. Hermione held out her hand and demanded, "I need your cloak."

"Wha-at?" Harry stuttered. "Why?"

"I can make this right. But not without your cloak." Trying her best to smile encouragingly, and hoping it didn't come off as a grimace, she added, "Trust me."

She knew which pocket he carried it in. The wild thought crossed her mind she would have to grapple with him for it - or _ Imperius _ him. Harry hadn't seemed to think twice about casting that particular Unforgivable mere hours ago.

Well, it was only a few hours for Harry. For Hermione, it had been… No, if she thought about how long it had been, fatigue would set in.

Something in Harry's countenance shifted, and he reached for his pocket. Thank god, he trusted her.

"You'll be right back with it?" he asked, his gaze shifting to where she knew Fred lay.

Eagerly, she nodded. He was inches from handing it over. She'd have said anything at this point. "I promise."

And then she was racing away, throwing the silvery material over her shoulders and pulling it over her head, neatly disappearing from sight. In another moment, she had yanked the hidden Time-Turner out, and turned it three times.

Vaguely, she registered Harry calling out, "Good luck!" before the second hand on her watch unwound.

Running while time traveling proved to be an unwise decision. It was extremely disorienting and increased her nausea level tenfold. When the world came back into focus, she had nearly collided with Alecto Carrow. Skidding to a halt, Hermione fell and couldn't hide her trainers quickly enough. Luckily she still had enough of the element of surprise and managed to roll away and cast a _ Confundus_. 

As Alecto moved away, shaking her head, Hermione took in her surroundings. The castle was still intact, as no fighting had yet begun. The sequence of events was now even more unknown to her; it would not be until the trio emerged from the Room of Requirement, along with the rest of the DA, that she could be sure of the timeline.

If she stayed exactly where she was now, she would get to watch Fred kiss her before they ran off in different directions. Lips tingling with the memory of the passionate kiss they had shared, Hermione remembered his cocky smile and his final words, “I’ll be waiting for you. After.”

She worked on silently casting spells on her face, hair, clothes, and body to clean up. She pulled a healing potion out of her bag and rubbed a few drops into her cuts and bruises. Digging in her bag, she found a Pepper-Up potion. It would not be good to appear as if she had been battling for two days straight before anyone else had begun to fight. This would be the first time she revealed herself while trying to fix Fred’s death - she needed to get it right.

* * *

It had worked. She had ‘come running back to him for one more kiss’ after he parted from the earlier version of her.

“Please,” she had begged, in between desperate kisses, all while trying not to cry, “don’t leave George’s side. Stick together, no matter what. Promise me.”

Fred had seen her tears, and George had been close enough to hear her and see her crying, too. _ Good, _ she thought, _ maybe it will be enough, if both of them see. _

Swiping a thumb under her eyes, Fred reassured her, “I won’t leave Georgie’s side. I’ll protect him.”

Without thinking, she had quickly replied, “It isn’t George I’m worried about.”

“Oi!” An indignant shout came from the other twin. “I’m right here, you know. And don’t you have somewhere else you need to be?”

Actually, she didn’t, as far as she knew. But it wouldn’t do to have it look like she had abandoned Harry, either.

With the Invisibility Cloak wrapped tightly around her, she followed the twins through the castle, watching them battle. Their ability to fight in tandem, to layer hexes upon one another’s spells, while weaving around each other, was breathtaking. Unbidden, a memory of sitting at The Royal Opera for a ballet with her parents came to mind.

Percy appeared, exactly as before, but this time he had both Fred _ and _ George fighting at his side.

“Hello Minister! Did I mention I’m resigning?” That was the same as every other time, causing Fred to glance his way and laugh. The difference was, George had Fred’s back, and saw Rookwood sending a _ Bombarda _ their way. But George could only pull one person out of the way in time, and Percy ended up in the rubble.

Hermione felt something upon seeing Percy dead - but that feeling paled in comparison to the joy of seeing Fred alive. She had done it! Fred’s death wasn’t a fixed point, as she had begun to fear.

Any minute now she should fade away, as the other Hermione wouldn’t have any reason to travel back now.

Any minute now.

Why wasn’t she disappearing?

_ Fuck. _

* * *

Fatigue had eventually settled in, and with it, Hermione finally admitted she needed to sleep. After a three-hour nap, she was determined to fix what came after the point in time when the wall _ did not _ fall on Fred.

First she watched it all run through, needing to know what to do and where to be.

Severus Snape had been in love with Lily Potter? _ Gross. _

She found out that Fred had fallen off a moving staircase. He had been trying to hex someone on another set of stairs, and in turn was hit by a tripping jinx. So, Hermione leapt back in time again, prepared to catch him.

_ 45 minutes later _

She had only left off trailing Fred for a few minutes as he made his way toward the Great Hall, just long enough to make sure Harry was able to get into the Headmaster’s chambers to view Snape’s memories in the Pensieve. Timing it perfectly, she had found Fred again, still working with George to levitate Percy’s body back down to the hall.

She still had nearly thirty minutes left from when she had last turned back time, but she had not yet made a move to change anything this time around. In a few moments, she knew Katie Bell would drag Fred away from his recriminations over Percy, to convince him to join her in retrieving Colin Creevey’s body. With his brother Dennis already dead, and no one else prepared to stick their neck out, there wasn’t anyone else who would do it.

Ready as she could be, Hermione finally stopped following him and stationed herself below the moving staircases. Fred’s body would bounce against multiple points on his way down - nothing a cushioning charm could not solve. The incantation to slow his descent was simple enough. As a final touch, she planned to conjure a net such as those used by Muggle firefighters to catch people. 

_ 20 minutes later _

What had seemed like a simple series of actions in thought, was not as simple in practice. There was too much to account for with Fred’s fall. Hermione had not succeeded in timing it all correctly, and Fred had ended up so badly hurt she was sure he would not survive. She had stood to the side, still hidden, cataloguing Fred’s injuries while Katie had keened over Fred’s body. 

“I should have told you-” were the last words Hermione heard before she turned her dial a half turn.

_ 45 minutes later (but really three separate, successive quarter-turns of the dial) _

It had taken three more tries, but Hermione finally tracked down the source of the tripping hex that would be Fred’s undoing. The Muggles called it ‘friendly fire’ - she wasn’t sure if there was a term for it in the Wizarding World. Cho Chang had been aiming for a Snatcher, but her spell was deflected and ended up hitting Fred instead. The skirmish between Cho, Roger Davies, and the Snatcher took place on a landing two floors below. It was just bad luck.

She had also found out who Fred had been trying to hit when he sent off his last spell: a masked Death Eater had been getting ready to follow Harry, Ron, and other Hermione down a hall. Fred had been trying to save _ her _.

“Bloody bad luck!” Locked back in her cupboard again, Hermione tried to decide what to do. She couldn’t very well take out Cho. Maybe she could take out the Snatcher? Or, she could go after the unknown Death Eater. But what then? How much longer was this battle going to last? What if she had to follow Fred for hours into the future?

A new idea began to form, but with it came the beginning of a cold sweat. Up until now, Hermione had been afraid, of course, but not like the fear she felt upon contemplating this. When Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had entrusted her with this very same Time-Turner the beginning of third year, there had been a list of unbreakable rules. And one of them had been to never go back more than five hours, because you could inadvertently change too much. And because it might be impossible to come back.

Hermione tried to picture herself without Fred - tried to imagine George without Fred. It seemed like a horrible future, too bleak to live with.

“What do I care for Dumbledore and his stupid rules?” she said, suddenly angry with the old man and his machinations. “He never told Harry the truth about anything. How do I know this wasn’t something he told me for his own reasons?”

A small voice inside her head told her that she was justifying her actions for the sake of the outcome, but she squashed the thought down as she pulled a piece of parchment and quill out of her bag to begin making some calculations.

* * *

_Three turns back - one turn forward, net difference of two hours back _

Hermione whooped. Her first experiment outside of the parameters she had been taught as a third year had worked. She could jump forward - at least in a small amount, to a timeline she was familiar with. She hadn’t changed anything, so this was still the same universe she had just left. The one in which Cho Chang killed Fred Weasley. 

_ July 31, 1997 _

No one would be able to easily comprehend how much it hurt to turn a small dial 6624 times. Trying to shake out the cramp in her hand, Hermione moved cautiously down the empty corridor. There was no way for her to know who would be in the castle at this time. She did know where other Hermione was though: she was at The Burrow, getting ready for Bill and Fleur’s wedding the following morning.

With George conveniently at the shop “working late”, Fred had snuck Hermione into his old room that night. They had made love and whispered promises to each other. The impending nuptials had left them both feeling romantic and hopeful for the future. Hermione was about to ruin all of that.

Breaking up with Fred could save his life. During the battle, he would not be distracted by her, or looking out for her, and ultimately dying for it. She just needed to make sure she still hopped forward to cover all of the other important points in time once this was done.

Sneaking into the Weasleys’ house proved easy enough. The wards around the property recognized her, and she knew this place very well. What she had forgotten was how busy it had been the day before the wedding. There were extra people everywhere, running up and down the stairs, and into each other. She needed to get other Hermione alone.

Finally, she watched herself tell Ginny she needed to go to the loo and knew that this would be her window of opportunity. Apparating into the bathroom Hermione knew her other self would use, she waited, holding her wand ready, mentally reciting potions ingredients in order to calm herself. Once the door was locked Hermione cast an _ Immobulus, _ followed in quick succession by the spells that would be necessary to allow her to switch places.

Making it through the next few hours, wherein she posed as her past self for an extended time, proved difficult. And not just because of the slight glamours she had needed to cast in order to pass herself off. Once, she almost slipped up when, seeing Tonks with a flute of champagne, Hermione snatched the glass away. The castigation of, "Not while you're pregnant!" was nearly halfway out of her mouth when she caught herself. In this reality, no one yet knew that Tonks was pregnant. She smoothed over the flub with a wink and a, "Saw George messing with some of these. Maybe grab a different one?"

On the flip side, she had no compulsions about allowing Fred to slip a tonic into his Aunt Muriel’s drink that caused her to belch loudly throughout the rest of dinner. That had not happened the first time, though Fred had wanted to. Hermione had stayed his hand that night, and she had had to live through the old harpy’s insults for the rest of the evening.

Briefly, she wondered if she should feel guilty about stealing this moment from her other self as Fred rapped once quietly on the door to the bedroom she shared with Ginny. Ginny was asleep, or at the very least doing an excellent job of pretending. Other Hermione was in a magical slumber below her bed, hidden under the cloak, exactly where she had been since the loo. When she awoke in the morning, her memories would lead her to believe she had lived through everything that happened tonight.

All thoughts of breaking things off with Fred as quickly as possible vanished after he locked his bedroom door and slipped her sleep vest over her head and ducked his head down to take one of her nipples in his mouth. Logically, she knew it would be easier to break up with him before they shagged, but her heart and body were telling her the opposite. 

Fred paused to pull off his own shirt too, before he led her to his bed. Soon, they were both naked. Seeing him whole, and wanting to remember him like this, Hermione knew she wasn’t going to stop him.

_ August 15, 1997 _

Jumping ahead in time was not as easy as going back. Her little experiment with going ahead one hour had not prepared Hermione for the extreme disorientation of travelling two weeks into the future. Or maybe, it was her lack of sleep on top of the emotional mess she had been after breaking Fred’s heart. Either way, she vomited all over the library floor of Grimmauld Place before quickly vanishing the evidence. Luckily, no one had been in the room when it happened. She had come straight here after her break-up with Fred, thinking ahead to a time when she could check on the efficacy of her actions.

Before, Remus, Fred, and George had shown up at Grimmauld Place trying to convince the trio that they could help them. In retrospect, it seemed ludicrous that no one else had thought to track down the three teenagers at the Black residence, but no one else had ever come there during the month they’d hidden in the townhouse before having to go on the run.

Hermione watched in satisfaction as Remus came alone. He told them about Tonks and pleaded to let him come along. He was more pathetic in this iteration, and Hermione felt ashamed on his behalf. The twins had made him braver, or at least less willing to show weakness. Once again, the trio turned down the offer of help and said they would be doing this alone.

_ Multiple jumps forward _

She never left Grimmauld Place, instead just flitting through it like a ghost for a few minutes here and there, trying to time her appearances to when _ Potterwatch _ might be on the wireless. Sometimes she succeeded, other times she sat reading a book to the sound of static.

She listened for Fred’s coded messages to her, but they never came. There was never any mention of the codename "Otter", or anything else that would lift her other self’s spirits on cold, dark nights in the tent. Fred, along with Remus, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Lee Jordan, still broadcasted hope out into the world. But it was no longer ever directed specifically at her.

Not knowing where to find anyone, she did not dare leave Grimmauld Place. She slept fitfully on and off, always on the sofa, scavenging what little food she could find in the kitchen. Kreacher was long gone to work in the Hogwarts kitchen, and the Death Eaters the trio feared would materialize after Yaxley had accidentally been let in never came. Having jumped back and then forward so many times now, she had become fuzzy on how many hours it had been for her since the first time she turned the little dial in the Headmaster's office. 

What did it matter, as long as Fred lived?

* * *

_May 2, 1998 - again _

Using a subtle _ Confundus, _ Hermione was able to slip into the Room of Requirement behind Lavender Brown, and be there when the trio came stumbling through the portrait hole with Neville Longbottom. She watched joy light up the expressions of those assembled, and felt the surge of anticipation go through the room when they appeared. Observing herself, she saw how her eyes flitted around the room, searching, before a look of disappointment crossed her face. Hermione knew her other self was looking for Fred. She felt a bit of pride though, when other Hermione lifted her chin and hid away her feelings in order to concentrate on the mission at hand.

Never once had Hermione lost sight of the most important thing in all of this: Harry killing Voldemort.

A cheer went up each time more people snuck in from Hogsmeade. Harry, Ron, and other Hermione barely noticed however, busy as they were plotting with Neville, Ginny, and Luna in a corner. This time, when the portrait hole from the Hog’s Head opened again, out came the twins and Lee. The cheer was louder, so it caught other Hermione's attention. The time traveller watched her other self bite her lip, trying to decide how to act. 

Suddenly, other Hermione's brows furrowed and her lips pursed. She stared daggers in Fred's direction before turning her back.

Seeing what her other self had witnessed, Hermione could understand the sudden ire. Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Katie Bell were crowded around Lee, George, and Fred. Katie had her arm around Fred's waist, in what could be interpreted as a possessive stance.

Fred was not reciprocating the attention. In fact, he looked uncomfortable, and was paying more attention to what Roger Davies was saying as he approached the group, than he was to Katie. But he wasn't pushing her away either.

_ What the fuck? _

Before she could send a stinging hex at Katie, George rolled his eyes at the display, clapped Roger on the shoulder, then moved over toward where her other self was tucked away with Ron and Harry. Hermione weaved around a few people as quickly as she could to meet up with him as he stopped in front of her past/future/this-was-getting-confusing self.

"He misses you," George said, surreptitiously making sure no one else was paying attention. "He's too proud to admit it, but you broke his heart, you know."

Other Hermione, who knew nothing of what she knew, sniffed contemptuously. "I'm sure."

George's face fell. "Cut him some slack. He went out with Katie a couple of times before we were forced into hiding. It didn't mean anything, trust me. Just… go talk to him."

Hermione closed her eyes and held her breath.

"I'll look for him afterwards," she heard herself say.

_ No, no, no. After is too late! _

She pivoted, not needing to hear the rest. It didn't matter, she had to focus on keeping Fred alive. She could focus on the afterwards, well, afterwards. 

Stationing herself by the door, she waited for the first person to exit; she followed immediately on their heels.

Goal firmly set, she waited until she could snag George, and pull him into an alcove. Before he could panic more than he surely was already, she revealed herself.

"Look, I know things are awkward," she began, ignoring George's scoff. "But, do me a favor. Promise me you and Fred won't split up. Keep him safe, so there is a chance at… after."

George narrowed his eyes at her. "What about me?"

Trust George to offer levity, no matter the events. "Fine, watch out for each other," she amended, giving him a half-hearted smile.

“Watch out for Ron, and Harry too,” he said, before jogging away.

It didn't work though, as she found out in a few hours. The timeline played out in similar fashion. She had to interfere in nearly the same ways, but Percy still died, and still Fred fell from the stairs, after surviving the wall, because he tried to save her.

Hermione cried, surprised she still had tears to shed at this point. She had worked so hard to get to this point, had given up so much, only for it to come to this. What could she do differently?

Going back to when he had appeared in the Room of Requirement, she decided to pick a fight with him. She pulled him aside outside the Room of Requirement, in nearly the same spot they had once kissed. Accusing him of cheating on her, she told him that it was obvious she had made the right decision when she broke things off. Unfortunately, George wouldn’t talk to her afterwards, so Fred died under a pile of rubble again.

She nearly decided to take the Time-Turner off and dash it against the stone floor in her little cupboard after another three tries - all of which failed. If she didn’t pick the fight, then he didn’t completely give up on her. Either way, he died.

* * *

_August 30, 1996_

Figuring out the maths and the logistics to make it back to the day she first stepped foot in Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes didn’t take as long as the journey itself. Once again, she found herself throwing up the little food in her stomach. It was the first time that had happened when going back; before it had only been when she went forward in time. 

The same niggling voice that had told her to pay attention to Dumbledore’s warnings was trying to get her to stop and think this through again. Bitterly, Hermione told that voice where it could go.

Passing herself off as younger Hermione by using glamours would no longer be an option - she had changed too much over the past two years. But Polyjuice would work in a pinch.

Again, that voice, which Hermione knew to be her conscience, asked what lengths she was willing to go to in order to succeed. Hadn’t she told herself at the very beginning that she wasn’t even allowed to hex Crabbe in the back, because it would change too much? Where had her desperation led her?

She was getting too adept at ignoring her conscience.

In the end, she didn’t see how she could make the switch with herself in the middle of Diagon Alley. Even if it was only for only an hour, there was too much risk. The safer option was to use an _ Imperius _ on herself. That way, she could direct other Hermione’s actions from the safety of an alley.

When Fred approached other Hermione, offering up bruise paste for her black eye and a free Patented Daydream Charm, that is when they would break up. Two years apart, after less than one together would be enough for him to completely get over her. Katie Bell would still be back at Hogwarts this year with Hermione, and she could keep an eye on her, making sure she didn’t get together with Fred.

Except, it didn’t work out that way. Well, the breakup went off as planned. But, from the multiple jumps forward, Hermione watched in horror as so many things changed. Ron acted strangely the entire year. Cormac McLaggen developed a crush on her and wouldn’t leave her be. And when Katie Bell got cursed and had to drop out of Hogwarts, everything began to seriously careen out of Hermione’s control.

She was already struggling with how to keep tabs on everyone within the castle without Harry noticing her on the map twice. But, she was also sneaking into the twins’ shop to spy on Fred and see who he was hanging out with. Mostly it was just Lee and George, but there were occasional dates.

St. Mungo's had too many failsafes that stopped patients from sneaking out for Hermione to sneak in, so once Katie was transferred there, it was out of Hermione’s control whether or not Fred visited her.

She could only hope things would change once everyone went into hiding. But first, she had to make it through Bill’s wedding. She needed to make sure her other self didn’t cave when faced with a chance to be alone with Fred and for them to end up back together.

It nearly broke her heart when Fred acted nonchalant at her presence before sneaking off behind the shed with one of Fleur’s cousins during the reception. She watched herself dance with Viktor Krum like she didn’t care about Fred, but she could not help noticing the way Ron stared at Viktor.

_ May 2, 1998 _

By now, Hermione suspected she had lived at least two extra months, if not three, travelling through time over and over - all alone. If she had tracked it more meticulously from the beginning, she could have known. It still wouldn’t have mattered though.

Because, here she was again reliving the battle at Hogwarts, following Fred around the castle as best as she could, working to protect him, and still watching him die. 

She had gotten him past the wall by talking to George, who seemed surprised when she approached him, but open to the suggestion that he should stick with his twin. Fred didn’t fall off the stairs and die - causing some silent jubilation from Hermione.

Harry died, but then he came back. And with that came chaos. Bellatrix Lestrange tried to kill Ginny and other Hermione, but before the crazy witch could finish them off, Fred and Molly came running to their rescue. One minute, Fred was standing, then the next he was on the floor, another body on the battlefield. Time travelling Hermione was having a tough time staying out of everyone’s way, so she didn’t see quite what happened the first time around, but after several small jumps back and forth, she realized that once again Fred was saving her.

Was he doing it because he still wasn’t over her? Or was he just being a friend, protecting her because that was who he was? Or did he think he was saving Ginny when he jumped in front of Bellatrix’s wand?

“Why, Fred, why?” she moaned. “You almost made it. Just another few minutes and Harry would have finished Voldemort, leaving everyone safe.” She had seen it happen this time, for the first time knowing with certainty how all the madness ended.

The Weaselys stood crying over the bodies of Percy and Fred. Percy who had died hours before under a collapsed wall, and Fred, who had heroically taken a spell meant for his sister and friend. But Voldemort was dead. And Hermione had all the time she needed to work out the correct ending.

* * *

_October 8, 1995_

This was it, the moment Fred had asked her out. Well, “asked her out” may not have been the correct phrase. It was more like he had cornered her in Hogsmeade, in that little alley between Honeydukes and Scrivenshaft’s, right after Dumbledore’s Army was founded, insisting she needed a butterbeer to celebrate starting an underground resistance. Grabbing her hand, he had pulled her toward The Three Broomsticks. Harry and Ron had looked on, laughing at them, but not following. George was nowhere to be seen.

She remembered how embarrassed she had been by his attention. Trying to deflect it back on Harry, as the one who would be leading them. Fred had brushed it aside, insisting he knew she was the brains behind it all. It had all seemed so silly to her at the time. It wasn’t until she was back in her dormitory, and Lavender had begun teasing her, that she realized it had been a date. 

And this is what she needed to stop from happening. Now that she knew when the war would end, if she could just get all of them across that finish line safely, _she_ could be the one who asked Fred out for a celebratory butterbeer.

_ May 2, 1998 _

She watched everyone celebrating - an invisible, lonely time traveler no one else even knew existed. Harry looked like he wanted to be somewhere else - anywhere but surrounded by a worshipping crowd. Ron was holding other Hermione’s hand, a look of adoration filling his eyes every time he glanced at her. Other Hermione was talking to Luna, not really paying attention to Ron, but it was evident in the way she gripped his hand that she wanted him to stay by her side.

And Fred… he was sitting with George, talking quietly while Katie Bell sat on his lap, her head tucked under his chin. Fred had one arm secured around Katie, while his other hand ran soothingly down her hair, over and over. Hermione remembered exactly what it felt like to be in Katie’s position; Fred had once comforted her in the same way after Dumbledore’s death.

But that had been in another reality... the one in which Fred had also died. Hermione knew her time was nearly up. Only one Hermione could remain. Which Hermione would it be? If it was other Hermione, would she ever gain any inkling of the myriad alternate timelines? Or would it be _ her _ that remained, having to live a life where she supposedly loved Ron, not Fred? Would their consciousnesses somehow meld? It was hard to say.

She knew she could change this if she wanted - she could still make it _ right. _But should she? Was it worth trying, if she did not know if she could save Fred any other way?

Fred was alive - he had made it through the war. Hermione tried to dredge up some happiness over that, but when Katie tilted her head up and kissed Fred’s cheek, causing him to smile, she only tasted bitterness. She choked back a sob as Fred cut off his conversation with George to shift and kiss Katie’s lips.

Hermione could feel the Time-Turner, lying heavily on her chest.


End file.
